EP0143794A4

EP0143794A4 - Fuel system bubble dissipation device.

Info

Publication number: EP0143794A4
Application number: EP19840901305
Authority: EP
Inventors: Walter J Iseman
Original assignee: Sundstrand Corp
Current assignee: Sundstrand Corp
Priority date: 1983-04-25
Filing date: 1984-03-05
Publication date: 1985-09-02
Also published as: EP0143794A1; WO1984004364A1; CA1217400A; EP0143794B1; JPS60501166A; DE3475552D1; IL71459A; IL71459A0

Abstract

A fuel system bubble dissipation device wherein fuel is delivered through a fuel line (not shown) from a fuel tank (not shown) to an engine. The device includes an ejector (30) having a casing (35) with a fuel flow passage (36) connected into the fuel line and a nozzle (37) extending into said fuel flow passage (36). The nozzle (37) is supplied with pressurized fuel to induce a higher pressure in the fuel flowing through the ejector (30). The bubble accumulation chamber (25) is associated with the fuel line and the ejector (30) to provide a reservoir for fuel passing into the ejector [(37)] (30) and to hold air bubbles separated from and above the fuel. A bubble evacuation passage (55) with an entry end (56) connects the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber (25) to the fuel flow passage of the ejector (30) whereby air and vapor can be drawn from the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber (25) and mixed with fuel flowing through the ejector (30). The bubble evacuation passage (55) is of a size to control the rate at which air and vapor are drawn from the bubble accumulation chamber (25).

Description

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FUEL SYSTEM BUBBLE DISSIPATION DEVICE

Description

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fuel, system bubble dissipation device for removing air and vapor from a fuel line supplying fuel to an aircraft engine and, more particularly, to a structure having a bubble accumu¬ lation chamber of a size to hold the largest anticipated air bubble as well as fuel and an ejector which increases the pressure of fuel flowing from the bubble accumulation chamber and draws air and vapor stored in the bubble ac¬ cumulation chamber for addition to the fuel flow at a controlled rate which will not cause pump loss of prime.

Background Art It is common in fuel supply systems for air¬ craft engines to feed the fuel from a fuel tank with a boost pump mounted in the tank and the fuel flows to a fuel control with the pressure of the fuel being built up by a two-stage fuel pump having a centrifugal pump as a first stage and a gear pump as the second stage.

For proper operation of the fuel system, it is important to avoid cavitation and/or loss of prime at the centri¬ fugal pump which can occur if there are large air bubbles or excessive quantities of vapor in the fuel. In a suction fuel system (no tank boost) for an aircraft engine, it is more probable to have air build up in the fuel line during low flow. On applica¬ tion of full power, this air may be transported as a large bubble which, if it reaches the centrifugal pump, will cause a loss of fuel flow to the engine. Previous systems have had various structural arrangements attempting to avoid this problem, such as the use of a centrifuge as shown in the Powell et al Patent-No. 2,901,031 and the use of a chamber located at thehighpoint of a f el line, as shown in Eeinecke et al Patent No. 3,387,644. In the Heinecke et al Pat¬ ent, an eductor connected in parallel with the main fuel line is connected by a passage to the chamber at the high point in the fuel line to draw air therefrom and add it to fuel being returned to the main fuel line.

The prior art does not disclose a system with minimal components and, therefore, minimal weight which stores a large air bubble in a bubble accumulation chamber and which utilizes the primary system ejector (jet pump) connected directly into the fuel line for drawing the air bubble out of the chamber at a controlled rate and mixing the air with the fuel flowing through the ejector.

Disclosure of the Invention A primary feature of the invention disclosed herein is to provide a bubble dissipation device for a fuel system having an ejector with a fuel flow passage through which fuel flows and a nozzle, a bubble accumu¬ lation chamber having passage means at a lower end connected to the fuel flow passage and a fuel inlet above the level of said passage means, and a bubble evacuation passage communicating with the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber and the fuel flow passage of the ejector whereby pressurized fuel flow through the nozzle draws air and vapor from an upper end of. the bubble accumulation chamber at a controlled rate and adds such air and vapor to the fuel flowing through the fuel flow passage. In carrying out the foregoing, the bubble dissipation device has the bubble accumulation chamber of a size to define a reservoir for fuel adequate to maintain flow through the fuel flow passage as an air bubble enters into the bubble accumulation chamber and to hold an air bubble separated from and above the fuel in the chamber, and the bubble evacuation passage is of a size to control the rate at which air and vapor are drawn from the upper end thereof. With the new and improved structure disclosed herein, a conventionally known system having an ejector in advance of a centrifugal pump has a bubble accumula¬ tion chamber associated with the fuel line into which the fuel flows and passage means connect into the ejector whereby a large air bubble can be diverted into the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber while the main fuel flow continues through the ejector. The air and vapor are drawn off from the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber at a controlled rate through a bubble evacuation passage communicating between the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber and the flow passage through the ejector. With this system, the air and vapor drawn off from the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber are mixed with the total fuel flow in the system.

Brief Description of the Drawing

The Figure is a schematic view of the fuel system with certain portions of the fuel flow through a fuel line indicated by flow arrows and with parts of the structure shown in vertical section.

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™_tr Best Mode for Carrying^" Out the Invention

The fuel system includes a fuel line which extends from a fuel tank (not shown) to a fuel control, indicated generally at 10. In advance of the fuel con¬ trol, the fuel is pressurized to a desired level by a two-stage engine-driven pump having a first centrifugal stage, indicated generally at 11, as provided by a centrifugal pump and a second gear stage, indicated generally at 12, as provided by a gear pump.

The fuel is delivered through the fuel line from the fuel tank to an inlet 20 of a bubble accumula¬ tion chamber, indicated generally at 25, with this fuel line flow being indicated by the arrow 26. The fuel flows from the bubble accumulation chamber 25 to an ejector, indicated .generally at 30, and flows from the ejector 30 to the centrifugal stage 11 through a part of the fuel line indicated by the flow arrow 31.

The ejector 30 has an ejector casing 35 de- fining a fuel flow passage 36. A nozzle 37 is located within the fuel flow passage and has an inlet 38 through a wall of the casing and an outlet 39 within the fuel flow passage. The ejector 30 includes a cylindrical member 40 defining a mixing tube and which communicates with an outwardly-flared section 41thereof. Fuel leaving the outwardly-flared portion 41 flows through the fuel line to the centrifugal stage 11 which has an inducer associated therewith.

The ejector 30 functions to pressurize the centrifugal stage inlet and to mix the fuel entering the fuel flow passage into a homogeneous bubbly froth. The impeller of the centrifugal pump provides a head rise, to the fuel to meet the NPSP requirements of the gear stage. The nozzle 37 is provided with fuel under pressure through a flow line 45 which is shown as ex¬ tending from the centrifugal stage 11 to the inlet 38 of the nozzle. This source of pressurized fuel can alternatively be taken from some other location down¬ stream of the centrifugal stage 11, such as the fuel con¬ trol bypass or gear stage discharge.

If a large air bubble were to travel directly through the ejector and enter the centrifugal stage, the centrifugal stage could lose its prime with subsequent loss of fuel flow to the aircraft engine. When the air¬ craft engine is used in helicopter applications, the possibility for a large air bubble to occur in the fuel system is more likely. This air build-up can occur during low fuel flow and, upon application of full power to the engine requiring maximum fuel flow, this air may be transported as a large bubble into the fuel pump and, particularly, the centrifugal stage, causing it to lose prime. As an example of such an air bubble, if the fuel line has a three-quarter inch internal diameter and the air bubble in the line is twelve inches long, this represents a volume of in excess of five cubic inches.

In order to avoid loss of prime, the bubble ac¬ cumulation chamber has been added to the system and is of a size to function as a fuel reservoir whereby fuel can continue to flow to the engine, even as a large air bubble enters the chamber and also to store a large air bubble above the level of fuel in the reservoir. This air is gradually drawn off by the ejector and mixed with the total fuel flow through the fuel line.

The bubble accumulation chamber 25 has a casing 50 with a vertical height and which can be of any de- ired shape, such as cylindrical. A passage means 51 connects the lower end of the chamber to the fuel flow passage 36 of the ejector. The inlet 20 to the bubble accumulation chamber is above the passage means 51 whereby, as an air bubble enters the bubble accumula- tion chamber, it will rise to the upper end thereof.

Passage means and, more particularly, -a bubble evacuation passage extends between the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber 25 and the fuel flow passage 36 of the ejector. More particularly, this passage means is defined by a tube 55 extending upwardly into the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber and having an entry end 56 through which air and vapor can be drawn and a lower end 57 with a restriction opening into the fuel flow passage 36. The restriction is sized to pro- vide a controlled rate of flow of air and vapor through the passage means whereby the air and vapor will be gradually drawn off from the upper end of the accumula¬ tion chamber.

With the construction and orientation of the bubble accumulation chamber 25 and the ejector 30, it will be seen that the aircraft embodying the structure can be at various attitudes, with there still being solid fuel flow through the inlet 20 to the ejector and collecting of air and vapor at the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber 25.

The bubble dissipation device associates a bubble accumulation chamber with an ejector function¬ ing in the main fuel line to avoid pump loss of prime problems arising from the existence of a large air bubble in the fuel.

Claims

1. A bubble dissipation device for a fuel system wherein fuel is delivered through a fuel line having at least one pump stage and an ejector in advance of said pump stage, said ejector having an ejector casing with a nozzle positioned therein to receive fuel under pressure, the improvement comprising, said ejector casing being operatively connected into the fuel line to have all the fuel flow therethrough, a bubble accumulation chamber operatively connected into said fuel line in advance of said ejector casing, said bubble accumulation chamber having an outlet adjacent the bottom thereof operatively connected to said ejector casing and means communicating with the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber and the ejector casing and defining a passage of a size to draw gas from said upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber at a controlled rate.

2. A bubble dissipation device as defined in claim 1 wherein said bubble accumulation chamber is of a size to provide a fuel reservoir for continuous flow to the ejector while permitting a large air bubble to pass to said upper end of the bubble accumu- lation chamber.

3. A bubble dissipation device as defined in claim 2 wherein the chamber volume is in excess of 12 cubic inches.

4. A bubble dissipation device for a fuel system wherein fuel is delivered through a fuel line from a fuel tank to a fuel control with the pressure of the fuel being progressively increased by components including at least one pump stage and an ejector in advance of the pump stage, said ejector having an ejector casing with a nozzle positioned therein to receive fuel under pressure, the improvement comprising, said ejector casing being operatively connected to the fuel line to have all the fuel flow therethrough in flowing from the fuel tank to the fuel control, a bubble accumulation chamber operatively connected to said fuel line in ad¬ vance of said ejector casing, said bubble accumulation chamber having an outlet adjacent the bottom thereof operatively connected to said ejector casing and an inlet above the level of said outlet and a bubble evacuation passage communicating with the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber and the ejector casing and of a size to permit air and vapor to be drawn from said upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber at ε. controlled rate.

5. A bubble dissipation device comprising, an ejector having a casing with a fuel flow passage therethrough and a nozzle extending into said fuel flow passage, a bubble accumulation chamber of a size to de¬ fine a reservoir for fuel and hold an air bubble separated from and above the fuel, passage means connecting the lower end of the bubble accumulation chamber to said fuel flow passage upstream of the nozzle, a fuel inlet to the bubble accumulation chamber above the connection of the lower end thereof to the fuel flow passage, and passage means connecting the upper end of the bubble accumu- lation chamber to said fuel flow passage.

6. A bubble dissipation device as defined in claim 5 wherein said bubble accumulation chamber is of a size to store an air bubble and a quantity of fuel ade- quate to permit continued flow of fuel to the fuel flow passage as an air bubble enters the bubble accumulation chamber.

7. A bubble dissipation device as defined in claim 6 wherein the passage means connecting the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber to the fuel pas- sage means is of a size to limit the rate of withdrawal of air from the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber.

8. A bubble dissipation device comprising, an ejector having a casing with a fuel flow passage, an inlet to said passage and a nozzle extending into said fuel flow passage, means for supplying pressurized fuel to said nozzle, a bubble accumulation chamber of a size to define a reservoir for fuel and hold an air bubble separated from and above the fuel, passage means con- necting the lower end of the bubble accumulation chamber to said fuel flow passage inlet, a fuel inlet to the bubble accumulation chamber above the connection of the lower end thereof to the fuel flow passage, and a bubble evacuation passage connecting the upper end of the bubble accumulation chamber to said fuel flow passage and of a size to permit air and vapor to be drawn from said upper end at a controlled rate.